To ask an apostrophe question

[Redyellowpink]

If I wanted to say the members of the companys experiences (clunky I know but it's an example)...multiple members, one company, the 'experiences' are the object

Would I write

1. the member's of the company's experiences

1. The member's of the company's experiences

1. The members of the company's experiences

Thanks in advance

Auto correct!

Should read

1. the member's of the company's experiences

1. The member's of the companys experiences

1. The members of the company's experiences

3

1. Very clunky sentence though as you say.

3

1. Members is a plural, experiences is a plural, company's is possessive.

Would it not be better to say 'Company members' experiences have been...'
OR
'The experiences of Company members...'

It would be 3, but it would be more elegant to turn it round to say ‘The experiences of the members of the company...’. That’s also a way to check where you need your apostrophe.

1. But that syntax is (as you note) clunky and hard to read!

Could you rephrase to ‘experiences that members of the company had/reported/whatever’?

3 is correct, but I’d never write it that way due to the clunkiness.

3

I'd day 3

Don’t say it. Say

“The experiences of the members of the company”

(“Companys” would never be a word by the way. It’s either plural “companies” or possessive “company’s)

Why don’t you give us the whole sentence and we might be able to help you structure it better?

@KaptainKaveman

Would it not be better to say 'Company members' experiences have been...' OR 'The experiences of Company members...'

This.

3, but as PPs say, the sentence is poor.

Yes, 3. But clunky.

I'd make it less clunky too:

Company members' experiences

That's what I suggested sailor .
Can we have the entire sentence OP?

It’s 3, but I’d put:

The company members’ experiences.

Are you talking about a company as in the company of a musical show? (He was a member of the company of Cats).

Or are you using “members” in the formal legal sense to mean shareholders?

If it’s not either of those contexts, the word “member” may not actually be the right one to use anyway.

Thanks to everyone who responded. 3 it is. To everyone saying I should turn the sentence around, this isn't the actual sentence. It does sound better with the real example. Real example relates to my PhD thesis so is outing

3 (I got that before I looked at what everyone else said, honest)

Definitely 3. The apostrophe in this context means "of" so not needed with members.

@Redyellowpink Understanding apostrophes is pretty basic grammar so if it's for a PhD you do need to get your act together.

Buy yourself a copy of Lynne Truss' Eats, Shoots and Leaves.

Grammar and Plain English geek here. Agree with PPs: all three options are clunky. I would redraft it so it reads:

The experiences of the company’s members...

that example from a phd thesis would be ‘outing’!